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Is it true or false that regular tillage/plowing helps keep open pores at the soil’s surface and increases water infiltration into the soil?

Is it true or false that regular tillage/plowing helps keep open pores at the soil’s surface and increases water infiltration into the soil?

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Asked by SoilGeek, Last updated: Nov 09, 2024

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2 Answers

John Adney

John Adney

John Adney
John Adney

Answered Nov 28, 2016

It's clear. You can use a rotovator (rototilling) thinking you are going to improve the seedbed, but the true is that you are destroying all the aggregates, selecting the particles by size as you leave them on the bed, and help to create a hardpan on the soil. We need to work with nature that is much wiser than man, and there are roots able to break the hardpans and create a better soil structure.
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John Smith

John Smith

John Smith
John Smith

Answered Nov 28, 2016

False

False. You may be happily hoeing in your garden thinking youre helping your plants receive the water they need, but hoeing (or tillage/plowing) actually reduces the capacity of the soil to receive and hold water. Tillage destroys soil aggregates and the biologically produced glues that hold soil aggregates together. This results in the collapse of those aggregates and the pores between them, which can lead to compaction and crusting. However, by using no-till drills and planters, farmers can insert the seed into the soil by cutting a very narrow slice into the soilresulting in minimal soil disturbance. Resource: Tisdall, et. al., Organic matter and water-stable aggregates in soils, Journal of Soil Science, 1982, 33, 141-163.
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